Governance & Policy
US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Definition
The Toxic Substances Control Act, enacted in 1976 and substantially reformed by the 2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, authorises the US Environmental Protection Agency to require reporting and testing of chemical substances, review new chemicals before manufacture, and ban or restrict existing chemicals that present unreasonable risk, with enforceable deadlines introduced by the 2016 reform.
References
Scope, review and risk management
Regulatory context
Overview
What it means
Chemical safety in the US runs through EPA risk evaluations rather than the EU's registration-and-authorisation model.
How it is used
Manufacturers file premanufacture notices; EPA conducts risk evaluations on priority substances; downstream users track restrictions on PFAS and other high-concern chemicals.
Why it matters
It is the US counterpart to REACH and the legal channel through which chemical sustainability pressures become binding rules.